Hague Refuses to Release Croatian General Gotovina

The appeal committee concluded that the seriousness of the charges, means that general Gotovina is unlikely to be released before his trial.

The Chamber of Appeals in the Hague tribunal has rejected the appeal made by the defence of the Croatian general Ante Gotovina. The defence counsel appealed the court's decision of last year not to release general Gotovina pending trial.

In the appeal that was filed at the start of December, Gotovina’s defence said that the committee wrongly concluded that there is a great chance that general Gotovina would not return to prison. They also argued against the findings of the committee that the Croatian Cabinet’s guarantee was not enough, considering that Croatia is currently a semi-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The appeal committee rejected all of the appeal arguments.

The appeal committee concluded that the seriousness of the crimes Gotovina has been charged with, as well as the fact that the general was is hiding for a number of years before being arrested, and that he was aware of the charges against him, tip the scales heavily against his release.

General Gotovina is currently on trial for war crimes committed during the Croatian War of Independence.